The main exporter of açai fruit is Brazil. You will rarely find fresh acai fruit in the produce department; instead you can by frozen açai pulp, sorbets and juice beverages. Brazilian craftsmen dry the açai berries and turn them into beads. These natural beads are then dyed and made into jewelry to sell to tourists.
Fruit
Açai fruit are often referred to as berries. They are about the size of a large blueberry, but exhibit a deeper and redder hue of purple. Under a thin skin and thin layer of fibrous flesh lies the large singular seed. The seed accounts for the majority of the weight of the açai fruit.
Harvest
Açai fruit is harvested by hand, when ripe, from mature trees. From July through December each tree produces three to four bunches of fruit that weigh from 6 to 13 lbs. The harvest must be processed immediately into pulp or juice because açai fruit are highly perishable and spoil quickly.
Health Conditions
The University of Michigan Health Center reports that açai fruit are used as a folk remedy for several health conditions including, but not limited to anemia, diabetes, severe pain during menstruation and leukemia. The açai seed has been used in connection with bringing down fevers and treating scrofula. Scrofula is commonly caused in adults by the bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis. These treatments are supported by traditional use and not scientific evidence.
Cancer Cells
The University of Florida is a pioneer in investigating the purported benefits of the açai fruit in the United States. It reports that extracts from açai fruit caused 86 percent of leukemia cells to self-destruct. The study's results, published in the "Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry," state the antioxidants in the açai fruit destroyed the human cancer cells in a cell-culture model. Further testing is necessary to determine if it does the same thing in humans.
Consumer Alert
The Attorney General of Connecticut launched an investigation into possibly unscrupulous business practices associated with companies that sell açai fruit products. Often pitched as a treatment for weight loss, an offering of a free-trial period of pills containing açai is the signature marketing pitch. Unfortunately, these companies make it next to impossible to cancel the free trial, which results in credit card charges for the product and shipping costs. Not only are you charged for the first "free trial" bottle, you are automatically signed up to receive subsequent shipments of açai. This of course, results in more charges to your credit card.
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